Thank you, George, for your explication. Being in phase for kihon is not quite how believe I'm being taught to train, but it does fit how I was taught to train in the past, and the reasons for it make more sense with your explanation and Mike Hacker's comments.

I would also like to thank the rest for all for your comments. I believe you answered my questions. Naturally, I will rely upon my seniors and my training for a final (evolving) answer, but I wanted to understand the different (or similar) ways that people approach this.